At room temperature dental mirrors tend to “fog up” when placed inside a patient's warm, humid mouth. Prior methods of preventing mirror fog up included dipping the mirror into a mirror de-fogging solution before insertion into the mouth. The thin film of solution left on the mirror's glass surface thereafter improved visibility for the operator. This event, however, is sometimes short lived because the moment the dentist, hygienist, or dental assistant uses a hand-piece drill, or air and water syringe, the thin film of solution left on the mirror surface is disrupted. The aforementioned high speed dental hand-pieces spray water to cool and flush tooth debris from the operative site. Also, air and water syringes are used to flush and aid in clearing the debris at the operative site. Consequently, during most routine dental procedures, the thin clear film of anti-fog solution on the dental mirror surface is disrupted and splattered with debris. Once the mirror surface is disrupted, it is useless to visualize the operative site.
A typical dental procedure involves using a dental hand-piece drill and a dental mirror. The procedure to clean and prepare a conventional dental mirror during a normal dental procedure generally takes seven to ten seconds. To clear and prepare a conventional dental mirror once it is splattered with debris, the operator must remove the mirror with one hand, put the hand-piece down in the other hand, pick up a wet gauze saturated with mirror defogger, wipe the mirror surface with the wet gauze, dip the mirror into the mirror defogger seated on a dental tray, wick the excess drops from the mirror, return the mirror to the mouth, pick up the hand piece, return it to the patient's mouth and continue the tooth preparation or other operative procedure. Such a procedure is time consuming and inefficient and often times the mirror is splattered again within seconds.
Another option some dentists use to improve visibility through the mirror is to have a dental assistant constantly spray water onto the mirror surface and suction the water simultaneously from the mouth. The success of this procedure to improve visibility is directly related to the assistant's ability and to the sensitivity of the patient's gag reflex. Some patients can not tolerate oral fluids accumulating within their oral cavity because their soft palate does not seal well against their tongue to prevent fluids from making their way into the throat. This naturally causes coughing and/or a gag reflex that interferes with the patient's comfort. Further, the coughing and gag movement make procedures more difficult for the dentist. In addition, many dental procedures require a dry field since they involve adhesive bonding. In those cases, the water spraying procedure to clear the dental mirror is not an option.
Thus, it is evident that a need exists in the art for a dental mirror which simplifies and expedites the cleaning process.